Gilbert of Green Gables
by owakoblack14
Summary: After one-year's marriage, Ludwig finally found time to spend a honeymoon with Gilbert. Their destination was Prince Edward Island, where the story in the famous Canadian novel "Anne of Green Gables" took place. With the help of Matthew, Arther, Alfred, Yao, Kiku, Roderich, Elizaveta, and others, could the newly-wed couple find out the real Anne Shirley? Pairing: Ludwig x Gilbert
1. Chapter 1

**1**

On a long auburn bench against a dark green wall sat a young man in brown overalls and a whitewashed shirt, his long legs clad in black stockings and glossy leather shoes, tapping the wooden floor half absentmindedly, half merrily. A yellow chick flew down, and perched right on the top of his head to make a nest, nuzzling the silver mess a whit bit messier. Whistling to the rhythm of his toe-tapping, the albino beamed to the warm summer morning sunshine dawning on his pale complexion-not a dust to be seen in the golden shaft sifted through a crack of the green eave of the train station. "Translucent," was the word for the young man's description of the fresh, pure Canadian air-even though everyone knows air is in fact invisible, this word sounded sensible to this young man.

"Gilbert!"an acquainted voice of a bespectacled man was far from sonorous, but on such a special occasion it caught much attention of the just-now-swarming-in visitors.

Whereupon the addressee fidgeted in his seat, as he once again became the centre of a stage.

Gilbert Beilschmidt was very sulky these days, very sulky. The German summer sun shone so hot outside, but even when his younger brother as well as newly-married lover went home could still felt the hot blaze burning in Gilbert's ruby eyes.

"Wilkommen zu hause, West." said Gilbert darkly, arms across his chest.

"Ich bin wieder da, Bruder." Ludwig stepped forward and hugged his lover, whom turned his face away, blushing and reluctant. He knew the knack of calming down his disconsolate brother-by breathing moist exhalation to the latter's earlobe, by whispering sweet words, and by making love to him. After all, they were so passionately in love as if just got married yesterday, but in fact they had been in love with each other for over a century, and almost a year had passed since their wedding ceremony.

"Summer vacation won't last forever, and where's our honeymoon? You've promised, West." Gilbert emphasized the last few words, making Ludwig realize that this time was the last straw. But the crucial reality was, that Gilbert, being a college teacher, had a long summer vacation all to himself, and on the contrary, Ludwig was so exclusively busy in summer that he dared not leave his work to others and take a seclusion to the world's end with his married brother.

"Bruder, es tut mir leid..." this had to be the German's inevitable answer, but I don't know what the devil had seized him today-instead, he replied, "Alright, let's pack up, Bruder."

"Echt, West?" Gilbert blinked at him bewilderedly. In a trice, he bounded to their bedroom, and with the help of the aforesaid blond, he packed all their luggage into one suitcase within ten minutes.

Gilbert felt indistinctly that everything should be done quickly before Ludwig could change his mind. The dose of magic potion would soon wear off. Now he was sitting at the navigator's seat of the old-fashioned jetblack Volks on the way to the airport.

But the analeptic wore off the smaller man first, as he looked at the muscular driver concentrating on the illuminated night streets in front of them. Gilbert began to feel guilty, for he knew how serious it meant for Germany to go on strike even one or two days. Even though being a uke was usually an excuse for receiving indulgence from the seme, he was Ludwig's big brother after all. How could he justify the honeymoon by causing such a nasty catastrophe to Ludwig? The enraptured sparkles vanished from his eyes.

As if having sensed his brother's dismay, Ludwig said blushingly, "It's because of love, Bruder. Ich liebe dich."

Ludwig's words were just like warm stream injecting into the Prussian's heart. Oh, how sweet, how sweet his little brother is! God damn the works!

"Ich liebe dich auch!" Impulsively, Gilbert flung himself to embrace the blond's neck-thanks to Ludwig's skillfulness, a car accident didn't occur.

Before long, they arrived at the airport. Because of the tourist season, there were not much flight tickets available in such a limited time. "Bruder, how about this place? It's faraway, but I believe the scenery is beautiful." After a close examination of the destinations on the electronic board, Ludwig finally suggested.

"But I believe the Nordics are not bad, either."

"Well, I...I heard the British prince and his wife had spent their honeymoon there, and..." Ludwig admitted uncomfortably.

"Ooooh! I didn't know you're so rrrrrromantic, West!" the Prussian emphasized the last but one word with a rolling R.

"...all I want to say the reason is that you've read the story of the red-haired girl to me, Bruder."

"Really? But I'm so forgetful, 'think I should read it again on the plane, kesese~"

Prince Edward Island, the eastest and smallest province in Canada. The island has an ancient name, "Abegweit," meaning the "Cradle of Waves." Although compared to middle Europe, Canada is quite young, the island boasts the reputation of the "Cradle of Canada" for related long history and keeps its original appearance of one hundred years ago. Besides that, the PEI features include lobster, potato, and-

"Anne of Green Gables! Ich komme!" waving his dark blue jacket to the small airport of Charlottetown, Gilbert breathed luxuriously the first breath of Canadian rustic fresh afternoon air.

"Bruder, could I stuff the jacket into the suitcase please?" seeing no usage of the jacket which he had carefully covered over the sleeping Prussian's body during the long flying journey, Ludwig sighed faintly, and followed with the trolley case closely after the resurrected trotting albino.

Later on the honeymooning couple told the taxi driver to take them to a hotel at the heart of Cavendish. "I know, you guys come for Anne of Green Gables. Cavendish's the hometown of the novel's writer, Lucy Maud Montgomery," the white-bearded driver said smilingly in a cracked voice, "Summer's the best time for tourism, for the island is closed during winter."

"I see. Everywhere in this season has a 'scope for imagination.'" Gilbert quoted from what he had read in the book Anne of Green Gables. He looked about the broad, flat fields through the windows. He had never seen a land stretching so unlimitedly under the deep sky before. As the vehicle drove on the red, crooked road, every now and then emerged a field with different color and shape, sometimes green with Queen Anne's Lace, sometimes purple with cotton flowers, sometimes golden with wheat, and sometimes saffron with daises. Gilbert's eyes lingered on it all, taking everything greedily in.

"You're a kindred spirit! I know which hotel to take you to." croaked the old man laughingly.

As the small country lane broadened itself into a larger avenue, Gilbert could see the road sign entitled "Cavendish" in both English and French. "This is Memory Lane, see? At the end of it is the inn Kindred Spirits." Every name of the landmark sounded so romantic to Gilbert. The vehicle halted at the entrance of a lane on the left of the avenue, whose end was blocked by bearberry shrubs from view.

After thanking the amiable driver and unloading the luggage, Gilbert and Ludwig went down to the secluded lane and finally found an inn behind a ring of white fences. Across the porch of white pillars, Gilbert opened the single screen door without knocking. Totally different from the creamy and prim exterior, the inner was ember and cozy-the parlor was lush with flowers, paintings, and antique furniture. The flower-patterned wallpapers gave a flavor of English rustic style, and the unserviceable grate commemorated the time a century ago. The picture behind the front desk caught Gilbert's attention, in which stood a red-haired teenage girl behind the white fences, her smile sweet and expressive, green-laced straw hat on her head, and snowy daises in her hands.

"She must be Anne Shirley!" exclaimed Gilbert. The temporary previewing study on the plane for this journey proved to be efficient, for it helped him to remember the appearance of the heroine in the children's book he had once read. Unlike his little brother, Ludwig, who had a secret hobby of hiding the erotic magazines under the bed, Gilbert would rather hide a couple of picture books of chicks under his pillow, or sometimes a children's book, on the purpose of recalling the wonderful time when Ludwig was still a small child by telling bedtime stories to the grown-up Ludwig over the latter's protest.

"The picture might be a model dressing up..." Ludwig said plainly according to his adult common sense, but soon he was hushed by his Peter-Pan-syndromic big brother, as if when a child denied the existence of a fairy, the fairy would die.

"Shhhhh! Why West, " Gilbert grinned broadly, "we are at Anne's home now!"

For everyone who pays their pilgrimage to PEI, the Green Gables next to L. M. Montgomery's childhood homestead is a must-visit. Even though it was late in the afternoon, deal to the high latitude, the sun always sets late in this land, which gave Gilbert a good reason to visit the green house without a rest in the comfortable hotel room with muslin curtains and bedclothes of cotton warp quilts, for after a fifteen-minutes' sauntering, he positively amazed at the fairy house of dreams.

Just as its name hinted, the two-storey house had emerald rooftops, sweet and radiant, surrounded by sundry flowers and clustering vines. An apple tree with thick, round canopy stood on the west front side of the house, and facing the east gable was a cherry tree, "Snow Queen," as Anne had called it, inspiring every spectator how extraordinary beauty and elegance the tree was in spring. Now it was past opening hour and the house was closed, so Gilbert betook himself to the parlor window to peer inside.

"What are you looking for, mein Bruder?" Ludwig followed suit, and found some red geraniums right against the window. "Is it...Bonny?" under such a circumstance, he had to repeat what he had brushed up on the kindle book on the plane, otherwise somewhere in the world a fairy might really fall ill.

"Ja! West, you are such a kindred spirit!" Gilbert nudged his brother grinningly.

Ludwig coughed awkwardly, pointing somewhere from behind, "Bruder, ich glaub'..."

Gilbert turned around accordingly and saw a small personage perching on a woodpile. Without uttering a word, he walked determinedly and nimbly toward the little girl, as if being afraid that an ethereal fantasy might suddenly puff into thin air. Finally this image was proved to be no mirage. It was indeed a girl of about ten, pointed face freckled, unbraided red hair streaming behind her in a torrent of brightness.

"I'm Gilbert, what's your name?" the albino bowed politely.

"Would you please call me Cordelia?" The little girl popped her big gray eyes.

"Why, if you love to." Gilbert answered differently from Marilla's reply.

"Are you from a foreign place? I'm from Nova Scotia, the closest continental province to Prince Edward Island. I began to take a fancy to this scrumptious place-it's a bless from God. I hope you'll enjoy staying here just like I do. The radiantly lovely summer days are too short. They slip by like the golden beads of a necklace, don't you think so?"

"Yes, I agree with you." Gilbert let out a hearty laughter, and beckoned Ludwig to stay awhile with this talkative and outspoken little girl.

"Are you going to Avonlea tomorrow?" Before their conversation ended, Gilbert asked.

"I'm terrible set on it." Her eyes danced with merriment.

Then the couple bid goodbye to the little girl, who rejoined her parents in the gift shop. To this point, Ludwig gave up his wild vagaries, and smiled at his childishness.

"Don't you know, West, sometimes I kind of miss the time when you were an angelic kid." Gilbert reached out for the neatly gelled blond hair belonged to his younger brother, and stroked it until some cornstalks fall out on the forehead, "Why don't you relax a little and feel yourself at home?" In the dusky backlight, his white-teeth grin broadened as wide as a Cheshire Cat's.

Home? My childhood home? Ludwig wondered, and he began to agree that he should try to forget the troubles he met at work, give himself to such a romantic place, and believe what his brother believed now.


	2. Chapter 2

2

When Gilbert opened his ruby eyes and batted his ivory lashes, he could see something glittering and shimmering like morning stars through the filmy muslin curtains next to he and Ludwig's king-sized bed, ringing like silent bells. At once he sprung to his feet, and flung open the window: a brand-new world with trees of sparkling leaves, chanting birds of colors, and a promising sky bluest of the blues-all things were shiny and bright!

As he turned back to look at the deep crease left on the white sheet, Gilbert remembered with a start that it was past the stipulated time, so he quickly washed himself, admired his well-formed body in the mirror, dashed downstairs, and uttered in a loud voice at the blond breakfasting at the dining hall:

"Hey West! Guten Morgen! 'Tut mir leid, ich bin spät!"

Despite his more wiry feature than that in war years, his voice somehow still kept the custom of shouting military orders, which, in addition to the crispness of the German words, caught the attention of the present Japanese girls who were also dining at the buffet. Some of the girls blushed and one even exclaimed in an audible whisper: "Kyaaa~~~Doitsujin desuwa~~~"

"Macht nichts, Bruder..." Ludwig face-palmed, resisting the attempt of sinking through the floor. He whole-heartedly forgave his lover's oversleep, for being a uke, Gilbert was so tuckered out in bed last night, but the German could not endure catching attention in the public, which meant disturbance.

"Woow! West! You've let down your fringe!" Gilbert lifted a golden curl from his little brother, shouting happily, unaware of another disturbance he had caused.

"Ikemen desuwa~~~" another Japanese girl whispered. Obviously the ungelled, younger German of the two was handsome in their eyes.

"The Japanese girls," Gilbert piled up in the plate pancakes and muffins, and settled down to the round table of charcoal tablecloth, "must be fans of Anne Shirley. I heard from Kiku that the novel was made animation by Hayao Miyazaki, a famous Japanese cartoon maker."

No wonder there were so many Japanese visitors, Ludwig thought. He noticed the creamy pillars dimensionalized by lights and shadows, which was the magical effect of early morning sunlight. Every second the outside world was becoming brighter and more breathtaking. Like his brother, he could hardly resist himself from finishing the English breakfast and joining the promising frolics taking place in Avonlea, which was a so-called theme park not far away by walk from the inn, but in a kindred spirit's eyes, a realistic village inhabited by Anne and her friends.

It was right time when Ludwig and Gilbert arrived at Avonlea, as the gate just opened and welcomed all the visitors to enter in. They picked up a guiding leaflet that the entrance and learned that the first show would not begin until half an hour later, so Ludwig excused himself to the washroom, leaving Gilbert to wait a while.

Gilbert looked around for the dress-up room indicated in the leaflet, where people could dress Avonlea's costumes without additional fee, and sure enough, he found it, and wasted no time to change himself. So there you go, here was the Gilbert that we read about at the very beginning of Chapter 1-arrayed in white shirt and brown overalls, if it not had been his messy silver hair, he could have played the role of Gilbert Blythe, who, in Gilbert's own words, was his equally-handsome namesake in Anne's novel.

Meanwhile, the blond was on his way back from washroom, but was stopped by a spontaneous byway show at the white fences rimmed by tufts of pink galsang flowers. The two actors, one wearing a false beard as well as thick-trimmed glasses which blotted out half of his face, another wearing a nightcap lower enough to cover his/her ears and hiding his/her face behind a ridiculous embroidered fan which discorded this rustic place, were chattering loudly with exaggerating gestures.

"What a brilliant day today! Don't you agree, mate?" the capped man/woman shouted at both the bearded man and Ludwig, pulling a long face, as if he/she would rather prefer a rainy day.

"Hey buddy, don't you guys start talking without mentioning the weather? How about the stars coming to the show today? I heard Matthew Wi..." the man pointed his finger through the woman and winked at Ludwig, but he was stopped short when the woman stepped on his toe.

"As for Matthew Cuthbert, he is picking up somebody at the train station. It's said that he and his sister Marilla are going to adopt an orphan! For goodness's sake, what's in their mind?" the woman suddenly stretched out a foot to hinder Ludwig from going on his way to his brother.

"Yeah, why don't they adopt me? I'm the hero! Hahaha!" this time the man's neck was wrung by the irritated woman, and Ludwig took this chance to walk away abruptly.

When Ludwig reached the bench at the train station where Gilbert had been waiting for him, he was called by the albino from behind: "West! You're so late! The first show is over, and Anne was taken home by Matthew's buggy! But the show was so wonderful, you can't imagine how splendid the girl had performed!" His shouting resulted in a questioning peer from a passing-by juvenile.

"Entschuldigen, Bruder. I was a little allergic to the lobster we ate last night," Ludwig said apologetically.

"Keine Sorgen, kesese!" Gilbert nuzzled into his lover's muscular arm, "as for a compensation, how about dressing you up in the changing room?" Then he pushed from behind Ludwig's broad chest to urge the reluctant blond into the room.

The inner was a generosity of hundreds of costumes, all of a-hundred-years-ago vintage country style, made of nostalgic materials such as wincey, gingham, and sateen. Ludwig amazed at the scene, and was about to budge around until a young man with a pigtail suddenly bumped into him, causing rows of shelves fall down to the floor and made a mess.

"Duibuqi!" Wang Yao was about to fall too, but Ludwig caught him by the arm just in time.

"Sorry, it's my fault," Ludwig blushed and apologized, "and what a coincidence to meet you here, Yao."

"Nihao, Yao!" Gilbert beaming friendly at the nation who had sold him pandas, trying to speak Chinese.

But instead of exchanging their traveling experiences, they had to clear up the mess before the park staff might look for trouble on them.

"Aber West, ich muss auf die Toilette gehen! Gewiss, ich bin auch allergish gegen die Lobsters..." Gilbert winked at both of the men who were busy in putting the shelves straight, and said again in Chinese, "Baituo ni le, Yao."

"Aber West, ich muss auf die Toilette gehen! Gewiss, ich bin auch allergish gegen die Lobsters..."

"Meiwenti er!" Yao's fingers curled into an "OK" sign and winked back.

It was not until Gilbert returned with beads of perspiration on his forehead that Ludwig and Yao completed the cleaning. Then after Yao parted them with Lin Xiaomei, Gilbert exclaimed, "Oh West, unfortunately the second show finished just now. I believe Anne must live at the Cuthberts' and have made friends with Diana now."

"Yes indeed..." Ludwig sighed disappointedly. The suspense of seeing the show in person made him more and more anxious, even though he was not that eager to watch it at the beginning.

Gilbert patted the blighted man's shoulder, "Come on, West, why don't you cheer up by buying me an ice-cream from Cow's Cream?"

Ludwig did not know why he should straighten himself up by doing an errand for his brother, but he was resigned to his fate. "Are we going together?" was his only question.

"Well, West...I'm afraid not," Gilbert said a little uncomfortably, "I have to go...auf die Toilette."

"What please? Are you alright, Bruder? If you have diarrhea, better not eat cold food." Ludwig was a bit worried, even though Gilbert appeared totally wholesome to him.

"I'm perfect. To save time, just go directly to the ice-cream before the next show starts West!" Gilbert beseeched.

The next show! He must not miss it over and over again. On the way back from Cow's, Ludwig was so lost to his determination that he did not take notice to another man bump into him-

"Sumimasen!" This time was Kiku, the Ninja nation-no wonder Ludwig made the same mistake again, and the ice-cream dropped on his blue shirt, immediately making an unsightly stain.

Then of course, Ludwig had to change the raiments, but everything had to be done quickly, otherwise he would miss the show at the Garden Stage, which, according to the guiding leaflet, was the scene when Anne Shirley firstly met Gilbert Blythe at Avonlea School, and crushed the slate on the boy's head because the latter called her "carrot."

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him squarely in the direction to the Garden Stage, albeit met with the gossiping couple in the way again. A small crowd gathered around them, gasping at the magic conjured by the capped woman or witch, which Ludwig showed no concern, but he had to get through the crowd.

"Stupify!" if Ludwig had read Harry Potter, he must remember that this was a freezing spell, and the next second he was indeed unable to move.

"Haha, I'm so sorry that you won't budge a bit til the show ends, Ludwig." said the "woman" triumphantly, without any sorry on his face. Now he had thrown away the nightcap to reveal the thick eyebrows under the golden fringe.

"Getcha, dude!" sure enough, the bearded man was Alfred, who was now high-fiving with Arthur.

Ludwig's anger was racing up like a rocket soaring up to the sky, and soon he felt like a thousand tons of coal burning in him, thawing the ice freezing his body. His muscles straining, veins bulging, Ludwig cried out, "DAS, IST, UNMÖGLICH!" Then the volcano exploded, ejaculating shafts of fire which carried this King Kong at the speed of light.

Watching the running-away blond, the two English-speaking nations were totally stunned at their footing.

Finally he managed it! Feeling like a racer who just reached the terminal line, Ludwig sat down at an empty seat in the Garden Stage. He was just in time: on the stage, the red-haired Anne Shirley was having class with her classmates, while a boy sitting next to her was eyeing her eagerly. Seeing is believing-to the paranoid's relief, there was indeed a cast of actresses and actors who were going to accompany all the visitors the whole day.

But wait, hadn't he seen this Anne Shirley somewhere before? Her figure, her voice, and her way of giggling...and he also began to notice that Diana Berry had dark skin and somehow a Latin accent, while Gilbert Blythe had a small goatee and a wanton smile instead of a roguish one.

The aforesaid Gilbert suddenly seized the day-dreaming Anne's braids, or a wig, and tossed it away to reveal a mess of silver hair. "Rabbit! Rabbit!" he teased.

"Bruder!" Ludwig raised from his not-yet-heated seat, but his shouting was covered by a round of catcalls.

Now Ludwig really wanted to sink through the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

Just as in Anne's novel, truly the molest of the carrot braids caused a commotion on the stage: the silver-haired Gilbert jumped onto the desk to crush the slate revengefully on the goateed Francis's head, while the dark-skinned Antonio raised the hemline of his blue skirt to reveal the knickerbockers inside, and also jumped onto the desktop to prevent the two friends from fighting. The auditorium was in chaos too: young men were whistling and cheering for the fight, mothers were covering the eyes of their children from seeing the actors and hurting their innocent souls, and fathers were leading the way to exit.

Ludwig was about to make way through the madding crowd to rescue his confused lover, but suddenly he and other people spotted a red-haired little girl who just stood up to leave her seat-her braided hair was so radiantly red under the summer sunshine that it made her stand out from everyone. "Mom, isn't this Anne Shirley?" a small boy asked his mother naively. Soon the crowd became silent, and watched the girl disappearing behind shrubs of purple hydrangeas beside the Garden Stage. Ludwig could not see her face, but it reminded him of the little girl he and Gilbert met yesterday in front of the Green Gables.

The interval for lunchtime was supposed to be peaceful. Ludwig and Gilbert sat down to a table at the terrace of the Moo Moo Grilled Cheese restaurant. Besides the lobster roll which had been an excuse for him to go auf die Toilette, Gilbert was full of praise for the red, bright drink in the glass bottle.

"Mein Gott, West! I love raspberry cordial! Besides pancakes and kartoffeln, we should add this drink to our daily cuisine!" he licked his lips for the taste of sour and sweet.

"Bruder, would you kindly explain what you were doing on the stage?" Ludwig still felt the pain in his stomach.

"Why, it's Francis' fault of pulling down my wig to shame me!"

"Gilbert du Lapin, c'est injuste!" the golden Frenchman emerged from behind. "You wore the wig quite loosely! And no girl would wear wig like the way you do!"

"I...I think...it's my fault." Someone said weakly.

"Ma...Matthew? Why are you here?" Ludwig finally noticed the bespectacled man with soft curly hair, who now sat beside Francis face to face with him and Gilbert. Remembering he was spending honeymoon in Canada, he smothered the second sentence.

"It...it's me who asked Gilbert to play Anne when we encountered at the front gate train station. Because of bad weather, the cast from Halifax could not arrive here in time, and both of us didn't want to spoil the day..."

"But why should my brother play the female role?" Ludwig did not whether to laugh or cry at the wig.

"Be...because Gilbert arrived earliest among those who I can trust with, and in the first show there are only two roles, Anne and Matthew." The Canadian host cuddled a polar bear to himself.

"And I also lend them a hand by playing the role of Gilbert Blythe." Francis eyed casually the red drink which reminded him of wine, "by the way, Matty plays the old man Matthew Cuthbert, Elizaveta plays Marilla, Antonio Diana, Roderich **Charlie Sloane** **..."**

 **"** **And what about Arthur and Alfred?" Ludwig managed to smite a chuckle when he remembered the two gossiping beside fences, trying to hamper him from seeing every play.**

 **"** **We play Rachel Lynde and her husband," it seemed that everyone was coming to this restaurant to have lunch, and the second couple joined the table. "And don't blame us, mate," Arthur furrowed his thick eyebrows, "Gilbert looked for help from us, for he didn't want you to know, otherwise he could not put himself into the play at your** **presence** **."**

 **Ludwig looked at his brother, whom naughtily stuck his tongue out. "Peinlich, now you've known. There're still two shows in the afternoon. I should continue taking part in. I can't let people disappointed, and I've promised her, you know." Ludwig knew his brother was referring to the little girl they met yesterday.**

 **"** **Nimen zai liao er shenme? Should I join you?" A pretty Taiwanese girl asked. This time came Yao and Xiaomei, Kiku and Im Yong Soo, Antonio and Rovino, and Roderich and Elizaveta brought up the rear.**

 **"** **You're most welcome! It's international conference!" Alfred waved his hand and joked.**

 **"** **Well...should we discuss how we redeem the show in the afternoon?" Matthew said feebly behind his share of double-double, but nobody seemed to notice him.**

 **"** Un peu d'attention, _s'il_ _vous_ _plaît_ , **" gracefully, Francis clicked his glass with a spoon.**

 **"** **Here is English zone. English, please." Arthur held his head high haughtily.**

 **Francis was about to argue, but Kiku coughed, "Sorry, I'm more confidento wize my Englishi..." Other Asian nations nodded in agreement.**

 **"** **Fine," the goateed man cleared his throat, "what I want to say is, that Matty wants us to think out a solution to redeem the show in the afternoon."**

 **"** **So what's the next show about?" Yong Soo asked.**

 **"** **According to the list, it's fiddle duel between our Gilbert and Roderich." Matthew was so happy to have the attention of everyone.**

 **"** **Why fiddle duel?" Gilbert was seized by Ludwig before getting up, "The best music instrument I play is flute!"**

 **"** **It's...it's a Celtic tradition...the two fiddlers play fiddle to make a duel..." the Canadian host shrank in his seat.**

 **"** **Yes, and because Scottish culture has a strong influence on Prince Edward Island." said Arthur proudly, although at home he often** **quarreled with his brothers.**

 **"** **Fiddle is fine with me," Roderich said seriously, "it's one kind of violins. Violin has the reputation of the 'King of Instruments,' only the one who has a low music taste could not appreciate it."**

 **"** **Now you tell me, who has a low music taste?" Gilbert rose up and pointed to his former feud at war, and now rival in piece.**

 **"** **Those who lack in self-confidence." Roderich sipped his coffee soberly, while Ludwig embraced his brother tightly and muffled the irritated's coarse swears in German.**

 **"** **Are you two...a pair?" as a fujoshi, Xiaomei observed intimacy between the German brothers.**

 **"** **Y...yes." Ludwig blushed, and Gilbert interjected, "In fact, we are in honeymoon!"**

 **"** **What a coincidence! We too!" Xiaomei laid her head intimately on Yao's shoulder.**

 **"** **Hahaha, and so are we!" Alfred patted the English man.**

 **"** **And we too..." all the rest raised their hands and said in chorus.**

Now all the people and nations gathered in the wooden-floor square in front of the fishing shanty, waiting for the second half. Some of them joined into the dancing circle led by Matthew and Elizaveta. The visitors were so happy that they almost forgot the stage commotion at noon. Then Gilbert appeared in the white shirt and brown overalls, abandoning the Anne costume totally, presenting his originally white-haired self with a fiddle in his left hand in front of the audience. Of course he would never shrink from any challenge, especially when it was from his feud. And next came Roderich, who even though was in an antique rustic costume too, his Austrian nobleness was still evident, especially when he was with a music instrument.

As soon as Roderich began the fiddle duel with a solo, "Shenandoah," everybody at the square was attracted, and the dancing circle was dissolved. The noble fiddler was so absorbed in his fiddle playing that he closed his eyes, eyebrows slightly furrowing, deep in thought. His prudent, graceful finger movements on the auburn fiddle produced the sound so mellow and demure, as if a lover was whispering into his loving girl's ear, with great affliction and passion. Elizaveta gasped quietly, tears welling into her olive green eyes, but she was not the only one among the crowd being touched.

Gilbert string-fevered the lyrical solo with a much merrier one. As the name of this piece, "Granuaile's Dance," indicated, he shook his body playfully to the bright, delightful music produced by his saffron fiddle, waved his grinning head naughtily, and made full use of the wooden floor and his glossy black shoes to tap-dance to add happy, punchy sound, circling the standing-still Roderich round and round mischievously, but not without the purpose of challenge. Among the applause which was not less enthusiastic than Roderich had received, Gilbert threw his peaked cap to the crowd, and Ludwig caught it with a relieved sigh for his brother's proper show-after all, it was not in a royal theatre, and such a piece of mischievousness could be accepted by the public.

Before the enthusiasm could begin to ebb away, Roderich joined in Gilbert's circling, both of them eyeing each other with heed and hostility while playing a slower piece of music and moving around. Suddenly Gilbert made his music soar up into a faster tempo-the foxhunt began! His fiddlestick moved faster than eyes could catch, and the rhythm was faster than ears could comprehend, making the audience watching breathlessly. Not resigned to playing second fiddle, Roderich sped up his finger-movement to race with the fundamental tempo, like a hunter straddled onto the horse to chase the cunning fox, both of them racing very fast in an imaginative spacious place created by their music. It was when the hunter almost caught up with the rhythm of the hunt that the silver fox resorted to a counter-attack-he changed the playing hand from the left to the right one, stretched out his stick to play Roderich's fiddle, and the latter responded wittily by playing Gilbert's instead. Taking advance of his body length, now Gilbert was standing dominantly behind Roderich's back, lifting his own fiddle higher and higher over the southerner nation's head, but Roderich managed to play it blindly as long as his hand could reach it. Then he turned around to get away from Gilbert, playing his fiddle from behind his back, not letting his enemy any change to touch. Gilbert wanted to show off too, so he raised one of his legs to form an angle, and placed the stick across under it to play the fiddle. While playing, he hopped on one foot and began the circling again. Roderich followed him, but Gilbert varied the synchronized fiddling by saddling the fiddle behind his neck-he was also capable of blind-playing-then the music came to a sudden halt, and both fiddlers stood straight up, panting heavily.

The fiddle duel made a sensation at Avonlea, and the afternoon redemption turned out to be a successful one. However, it was a pity that there was no competent actress to play the role of the heroine, Anne Shirley.

"It's the last show of the day. The concert at the church." Matthew said nervously behind the curtains at the platform of the church hall. "But we are still in need of a prima donna."

"Can't I try?" Elizaveta asked enthusiastically. "After all I'm the only girl in the cast."

"But...you have the role of Marilla to play..."

"Come on Matty, you can't expect other boys dress up like girls again. Look at the commotion they've done!" she persuaded.

"Kesese! Look who it is!" Just now, Gilbert emerged with a little child into the waiting room-Elizaveta remembered that the last time he did this was when he firstly brought little Ludwig from somewhere in the west Rhine.

"Oh my goodness!" she stepped forward to embrace the red-haired little girl. "You are the girl we want! Wow, Gilbert, you really have a gift of ferreting out children!"

"Kesese, because I'm awesome!" Gilbert smugged.

When the little girl was introduced by Matthew on the stage, she was dressed up in a green skirt with puffed sleeves exactly like Anne Shirley-her bright red hair was braided into two tails, her large gray eyes had radiance of emerald, and her pointed face was heavily freckled. She seemed to have no stage fright at all, and began singing:

 _I don't know if you can see  
The changes that have come over me  
These last few days I've been afraid  
That I might drift away_

 _I've been telling old stories, singing songs  
That make me think about where I've come from  
That's the reason why I seem  
So far away today_

 _Let me tell you that I love you  
That I think about you all the time  
Caledonia you're calling me  
Now I'm going home_

 _But if I should become a stranger  
Know that it would make me more than sad  
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had_

 _Caledonia's been everything I've ever had_

To all the audience, this girl was no stranger at all. She had been living on Prince Edward Island since last century; every visitor who was a kindred spirit could trace her footprints on the red earth, hear the never-ending stories of hers, and feel home at such a beautiful place.

"Anne Shirley!" the audience bravoed-this included Ludwig, who now was sitting satisfactorily in the auditorium. When he saw Gilbert waved happily to him from behind the curtain, he remembered that in his childhood, even though having returned from another crucial battle, before sleep, his brother would always read a beautiful bedtime story to him, and then said, "Just believe."

"Yes, I believe." He mouthed to Gilbert, whom nodded understandingly.

On the third day, Ludwig and Gilbert were going to spend their day in _Zweisamkeit_. The weather was even better than yesterday-the island must have been kissed by God. On their way to the sea shore, a pair of little girls passed them by, one having silky black hair, the other red hair. They did not notice until the girls were already in the front, so they had no idea of their faces. If the red-haired girl was the same girl they had met, why didn't she greet them?

But Ludwig did not probe into the question, for he kept on believing what he believed.

"West, I have a good idea," as they walked hand in hand and saw a bicycle shanty, Gilbert clasped his hands merrily, "why don't we rent bicycles to go to the lighthouse in New London?"

Why not, there was a bicycle lane all along the island. They could bike and enjoy the breathtaking seaside.

"See who's the first to reach there, kesese!" When they were crossing the bumpy wooden bridge over a "Lake of Shining Waters," Gilbert suddenly sped up and rode ahead of Ludwig.

"I won't let you win!" The younger brother smiled, putting on efforts.

When they reached there, it was Ludwig the first, but it did not matter Gilbert that much, for as soon as he saw the magnificence of natural beauty, he was totally attracted and put the bike randomly beside the road. The large sea of grass stretched to the sky horizon; the green grass leaves were so thick-growing and glossy under the sun that they looked like the fluffy skin of the earth, seducing Gilbert to stroke them for he liked furry animals so much. Yes, he could not resist the fascination of walking into this holy ground to pay a pilgrimage to the red-and-white lighthouse right in the middle of the field. He advanced slowly and worshipingly, letting every grass tip kiss gently both of his horny palms. The cool breeze-the exhalation of earth, ocean, and sky-softened his complexion, which became rosy from the long-distant race, and stirred his silver locks, which was a rare, stunning beauty under the canopy.

"Bruder!" Ludwig called out behind his brother.

Gilbert turned his dubious face around, mouth opening slightly, ruby eyes looking innocent, and tucked the wind-stirred locks behind his ear.

Ludwig took this chance to press the camera shutter-a transient moment became perpetuity. "Du bist so schön." He approached his lover, hugged him, and kissed the petal-like lips.

In the following days they visited Charlottetown and Halifax, where Lucy Maud Montgomery had studied there, and then they journeyed to Toronto to find the author's last residence-the reclusive house in the outskirts of the modern metropolis, which Montgomery named it "Journey's End."

But even when Gilbert was back home in Germany with Ludwig, he did not think their journey ended, because he had a new goal. This night before sleep, the Beilschmidt brothers read in bed the beautiful scrapbook by Montgomery, and Gilbert said,

"Oh West, I'm going to keep a diary full of fantastic photos and clips and fluffy little things just like this. I want to record every happy day spent with you, because I love you!"

*End*


End file.
